Anything (Van McCann | CATB Fan Fiction)

1. Brooklyn, NY

|Vienna|

"Sup, Vie?" It was a warm, familiar voice that rang. I knew exactly who it was on the other end from the moment I heard the thick accent coursed through the telephone speaker.

"Hey, Mike. What's good?" I smiled. Mike was a good friend of mine. We both went to NYU and we've been really close ever since. Even though adulthood happened, and we were both now doing our own thing; I was doing some freelance thing at my home studio in Brooklyn and Mike was working as a front of house engineer, we had still remained in touch.

"You might want to recharge your mobile phone, Vie. I have been calling since morning. Lucky, I got your land line," he chuckled.

"Oh, shit. I didn't realize that. Sorry, man."

"Nah. Listen. Did you by any chance, receive my email? I didn't get a reply from you, so I thought I'd check in on you to see if you're alive and well," he jokingly murmured.

"I am pretty sure I am alive right now," I sniggered, adding, "About that... I did get your email. I was going to call you later, after I'm done with a couple of things, actually."

"Ahh, good. So... Are you up for it?"

Mike made a little proposal, or a request rather. He was currently working for a band called Catfish and The Bottlemen from The UK and I was told that they were looking for a tour photographer for the US tour, so Mike thought it'd be brilliant for me to join the crew. The pay was alright, to say the least, since the tour manager had to manage the band within a limited budget, but, all my travel expenses will be paid for, which I thought would be cool. But, I wasn't sure about traveling from one city to another.

"Honestly, I am still not sure if I want to travel that much, Mike..." I told him.

"Ahh, come on, Vie! It'll be fun. The lads are a cool bunch. It'll be like a vacation more and less like you're working. I promise you," he suggested. "Plus, you'll be touring with me. It'll be like the good old days!"

"Ha, I love you, Mike, but, I still need to think about it..." I shrugged.

"Hmm. Okay. Why don't you come down, to check out the band. Get to know them and the crew and then I'll let you decide. What do you reckon?"

I smiled knowing that Mike was very persistent when it comes to something.

"Alright, alright. I'll be there. Just tell me when and where," I resigned.

"Ha! You're the best!" He laughed. "Mercury Lounge at 6PM sharp. The band wont come on till 8PM, but, just come early so we could hang. I'll put you on the guest list," he happily said.

"Okay. I'll see you there."

I was surprised to see a long queue of eager fans waiting outside when I got to the venue. I have never heard of the band before and I sure was excited to see what the band was like.

"Vienna Loewe," I told the buffed, security guy.

"You're here with Mike Woodhouse?" he asked.

"Yep," I grinned.

"FOH is at the lower stall, first door on your right," he muttered.

"Got it! Thanks." I hurriedly walked down the stairs to get to Mike.

"Hey," I smiled, when I finally got to the FOH console. I could see the stage from where I was standing - red spotlights and the drum kit has Ewan McGregor's face etched in front of it. Interesting.

"Vienna!" Mike exclaimed, leaning in for a hug. "Glad you could make it."

"Anything for my best friend," I told him, still smiling. I looked over to a couple of other guys there. They both had noticed my presence, nodding and mouthed their hellos at me. Without wasting any time, Mike then introduced me to both of the men.

"Vie, this is Dan, the tour manager. And Larry, the guitar tech guy."

"Hi," I nodded. "I am Vienna. Nice to meet you," I extended a handshake to the both of them.

"Right, right. Mike told me about you. You're the photographer, right?" Dan asked.

"Yep."

"So, have you thought about our offer?" He asked.

"Well, um, I am still considering it," I murmured.

"She came to check out the band," Mike explained.

"Ah, fair enough. I saw some of your works on your website and I thought it'd be really wicked if you'd join us," Dan smiled.

"Thank you," I flushed, since I've never been so good at receiving compliments.

"I gotta go lads," Larry said, "Need to prep Van's guitar. It was nice meeting you, Vienna. See you in a bit," he smiled.

I nodded and watched him disappeared through the hall, heading towards the stage area.